The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Eastern Region is planning to engage with stakeholders of the Energy Sector as a part of our linkages programme – to identify the most pertinent issues of the Energy Sector. While COVID-19 related restrictions are easing out and parts of the economy are starting to reopen and recover, huge uncertainty continues to prevail regarding what the future will look like. The power sector witnessed limited disruption as power-related services come under the essential services category. The sector, however, witnessed significant impact. The demand for power fell steeply because of the drop in commercial and industrial activity but demand has started to recover as the lockdown is being eased out and as facilities are opening.
As we move into the post COVID-19 era, here are the top reform measures which might be critical for the power sector to move towards a strong and resilient recovery.
- Structural reforms need to be pursued at an accelerated pace with private-sector participation
- Investment in grid and utility modernisation
- Rapid digitalisation across the board, both from internal and external perspective is critical for utilities.
- Focus on energy efficiency and regulatory changes is need of the hour. On the efficiency side, need for continued focus on improving efficiencies across the value chain and on the regulatory side, better tariff design reflective of market changes need to be enabled.
- Building resilience across the sector that hinges upon secure, reliable and affordable provision of electricity services.
Against this backdrop, CII organizing 11th Edition of Energy Conclave a Virtual forum to engage B 2 B and B 2 G stakeholders on 26 September 2020 on CII Virtual Platform from 1400 Hrs onwards.